The field of the invention relates generally to transparent conductors, and more specifically, to durable transparent conductors on polymeric substrates.
Transparent conducting oxides are commonly referred to as a group of transparent conductors. These transparent conducting oxides are generally defined by one or both of their conductivity and transparency. These conductors have been widely used in a variety of applications including, anti-static coatings, touch screens, flexible displays, electroluminescent devices, electrochromic systems, solar cells, and energy efficient windows, to name a few. The individual applications normally require a certain conductivity and transparency for the materials. Sometimes more stringent requirements may be imposed to ensure the structural and functional integrity of the transparent conducting oxides when the application is deployed in an extreme environment.
Technology associated with the preparation of durable transparent conductors has been key in the development of anti-static coatings, touch screens, flexible displays, and the like. All of these applications are dependent upon excellent performance in the electrical, optical, and mechanical properties of the transparent conductor.
Indium-tin-oxide (ITO) thin films are one of the most common transparent conductors and have been prepared on polymeric substrates such as polyesters or polycarbonates by using sputtering, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), electron beam evaporation, reactive deposition, and pulsed laser deposition. Such approaches usually require high temperature annealing or ultraviolet laser processing, which can damage the polymeric substrates and induce structural and color change, especially if the polymers are aromatics-based systems. In addition, compressive internal stresses can be developed and can easily initiate tensile cracking on ITO thin films.